Beau

January 24th 2017 -- March 4th 2017

Dog Meat Trade--South Korea

Beau - Rainbow Bridge- 3/4/2017

It is with heavy hearts that we have some sad news about wigglebutt Beau.

Beau made the long trip over to California from South Korea, with Prince, Sonny and Minnie. He was being treated for a bad ear infection in his right ear by our vet in North Hollywood. Beau got lucky with a foster home offer shortly after arriving to Camp Cocker Rescue. He got to enjoy the comforts of being with Sophia and Andres in their nice home, while he awaited adoption.

It was their description of what an amazing dog Beau was, that attracted adoption interest from Tania, an approved adopter from our rescue partner at Angels Under Our Wings Cocker Spaniel Rescue. Next thing you know, we booked Beau his flight and headed to Dr. Wilson's at The Animal Doctor of Ventura to get his ear infection rechecked and to get his health certificate.

Beau's foster parents mentioned that Beau would yelp when he had a toy in his mouth, so we told Dr. Wilson about this. When she looked down in his right ear, she could see it was still oozing with infection, but she could see the ear drum was intact. When she opened his mouth to look inside for any mouth or jaw problem, he yelped and she knew there was pain going on. Dr. Wilson had a hunch there was something going on behind the ear drum, in what is known as the middle ear. She said a CT Scan was the only way to really know for sure what was back there.

So that was when we asked for donations for Beau, and so very many of you came through and helped to donate so he could get this very expensive diagnostic testing. The results of the CT Scan were a shock to us all, Beau had a huge tumor that had grown more than three inches in length and had already reached his cervix (the neck, where the spinal cord and brain connect).

His prospects were suddenly that he was now a hospice dog, although besides yelping when he would bump his right side of his ear, or when he was using his jaw, you would never know.

Beau's foster parents were out of town (out of the country, and not reachable) and it had been our hope that upon their return, that they would be willing to continue fostering Beau as a hospice dog. While they were gone, we didn't have another foster home for Beau (we always have dogs waiting for foster homes, there are never enough foster homes ever). So Beau was staying at Dr. Wilson's hospital, and their staff was taking good care of Beau, he got walks, and attention and he was comfortable. His appetite was super good and he was wagging his tail. Dr. Wilson had started Beau on a good pain management plan and he was also on anti-biotics for the infection he still had in the outer right ear.

On Friday morning, when the staff arrived at the hospital, they found Beau's cage covered in blood and bile. He was dazed and still alive. When the vet tech reached in to pick Beau up, he began seizing and it was a really scary long seizure. He came out of the seizure and was still breathing. Beau had little red dots inside of his mouth that indicated internal bleeding was going on. The vet called me (Cathy Stanley, Camp Cocker founder) immediately to tell me what had just happened. I asked them to please not wait for me to get there, I didn't want Beau to go out in pain and his body seizing. The vet tech held him and pet him while they gave him the sedation, then euthanasia drug. It was fast and he was out of pain quickly.

The vet thinks that based on the tumor having reached the cervix, that it is likely the tumor had reached his brain and then burst, which explains the internal bleeding and the seizing.

Dr. Wilson's staff was really thoughtful and they knew I was on my way to go and say good-bye to him posthumously, so they wrapped him up in blankets and kept his body warm on heating pads. No vet office has ever done that for one of our dogs before (and this was not the first time a dog died before someone from Camp Cocker could get there to say good bye). So I was able to pet Beau and kiss him on the top of his face and his head and pet him and tell him that SO many people have loved him, so very very many people, that he had no idea. I told him he was a good good boy and that he was loved, that Sophia and Andres loved him, that Tania the lady that was set to adopt him, loved him. That Jenny, his rescuer loved him.

I promised him that Camp Cocker would save another dog in his honor, which prompted the trip to the South Los Angeles animal shelter yesterday. I also promised him I would save two more dogs from South Korea in his honor (and that is in the works for sometime in late March).

This was so unexpected, first finding out that he had such an enormous tumor, but then losing him so suddenly and quickly after the diagnosis. We had hoped he could have another few months of hospice care.

It wasn't until I had personally spoken to Beau's rescuer in South Korea, his foster home (they only returned from out of the country late last night) and his future adopter, that I was then ready to let all of his fans and supporters know.

I'm hoping that all of the dogs we've lost before Beau, are right now helping him to make new friends over the Rainbow Bridge and that there is lots of food and treats there for him because he was a total foody, and that his tail is a wiggy wagging and he is running around and free.

We loved you Beau, and we were only just getting started.

Rest in peace little wigglebutt
Rest in peace